There are literally hundreds of options for Bluetooth headsets. If you want cheap you can get cheap. However, from my experience cheap doesn't make for a decent experience. I have used dozens of Bluetooth headsets over the years and it has been vitally important that my needs were suited as in previous jobs I have spent up to six hours a day in the car. What I require from a Bluetooth headset is as comfort, high quality sound and decent build quality. Will the Voyager Pro HD live up to my expectations?
There are many styles of Bluetooth headset and from a personal viewpoint I actually prefer the boom mic style. Don't ask me why, it is just one of those things. Maybe it is just psychological and my brain tells me that the closer the microphone to my mouth the better?
When it comes to build quality the Voyager Pro HD didn't let me down. It feels solid in every aspect as well as flexible with its foldable boom microphone.
You would have seen in the video that I mentioned that the rubber ear bud is removable. Within the box that the headset comes in you will also find two different sized buds so you can decide which is most comfortable for you.
The call answer/end button is located on the opposite side of the ear bud. It is large enough for you to press it with ease. Also, three presses will enable the Vocalyst service but I shall cover that later in the review.
Performance
With any headset if the sound quality is not up to par on either end of the phone call then the hardware is a fail. Fortunately the Voyager Pro HD performs well in this department, but I didn't expect anything less.
Phone calls sound crisp and clear and even with the car window open and the wind rushing through my hair (joke) I could still hear the other person clearly and they could hear me.
An added bonus is the fact that the headset can stream music/podcasts etc from your BlackBerry. If you are happy to listen to music in just one ear then this is great, plus the headset will detect when you remove it from your ear and stop the music! In addition, if you are listening to music and you get a phone call the music will pause and the call is routed to the headset.
The Voyager Pro HD has a feature that is so great but not something I have used before. It is a service called Vocalyst. Once registered with Vocalyst (unique code in the box) you are then directed to set up the services you require.
To cut a long story short Vocalyst will allow you to listen to a variety of services such as local weather reports, news, email and even your Twitter and Facebook timeline. There is also the option to post to Twitter/Facebook all without touching your phone. And it works perfectly. I was quite shocked when I set it up and then listened to my Twitter timeline being streamed to my ear. It was almost bizarre. When you register you will receive a sms with a local number to call for the Vocalyst service. Dial it and you are prompted to give a voice command of the service you require. Very clever.
The service is free for a year with your new purchase and after that period there is a charge, although I don't know what it is.
Either way, it will allow you to do things, hands free that with most Bluetooth headsets would be impossible.
In addition you can import up to 400 contacts to Vocalyst to allow for voice dialing through the service if you desire. This can be done manually or you can just follow on screen prompts for importing from Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook etc. Painless stuff.
Battery wise the device is certainly on par with many others and will allow for six hours of talk time. It retains the battery charge well so if you don't talk much you will find yourself only needing to re-charge once every week or two. When you turn the device on it will actually tell you the remaining talk time so no need to worry about if it is charged enough for the day ahead.
BUY NOW
Similar Bluetooth headsets |
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CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE | GREAT ALTERNATIVE | SOMETHING MORE EXPENSIVE |
BlackBerry HS-300 "A compact OEM Bluetooth headset at a low price" |
Car and Driver Max 4x |
Jawbone ERA "With military-grade NoiseAssassin this one maybe the ultimate in Bluetooth technology" |
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